Tuesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 7.22.14

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Republican voters in Georgia will go to the polls today to decide several primary runoff elections, including choosing the party’s U.S. Senate nominee. There are also congressional runoffs in the 1st, 10th, and 11th districts. Polls close at 7 p.m. (ET).

* In Montana, it’s been widely assumed that appointed Sen. John Walsh (D) faced insurmountable odds in his race against Steve Daines (R), but PPP shows Walsh narrowing a 17-point gap to a 7-point disadvantage since November.

* While Democrats had been quite confident that Iowa’s U.S. Senate race would break their way, the contest has quickly become a toss-up. With this in mind, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is launching a major new ad buy to boost Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), reminding voters of state Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R) extremism on issues like Social Secuirty.

* In Texas, Planned Parenthood’s political arm is reportedly “embarking on the most aggressive campaign it has ever waged in Texas,” with plans to invest $3 million to turn out voters for Democratic state Sens. Wendy Davis for governor and Leticia Van de Putte for lieutenant governor. (Disclosure: my wife works for Planned Parenthood, but played no role in this piece).

* Any chance the Republican Governors Association will try to boost Rob Astorino (R) in his bid against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D)? No. RGA Chair Chris Christie said yesterday his group won’t invest “in lost causes.”

* Speaking of Christie, the New Jersey governor was in Connecticut last night for a fundraiser, where he was confronted with nearly 200 protesters, condemning his recent decision to veto legislation to reduce gun violence.

* And in Hawaii, where appointed Sen. Brian Schatz is facing a tough Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, the incumbent got a boost this week with an endorsement from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the state’s largest paper.